Design A Great Personal Marketing Plan
By this time you must have experienced the importance of having a great marketing plan. Whether you’re a freelancer or a business, there is nothing that has the capability of catapulting you into the stratosphere as much as a personal marketing plan.
Having an identity in today’s free market is important. More people than ever in the job market vying for the same things that you are. So, taking some time off to create a marketing plan is a good idea.
Particularly, freelancers and anyone working in the gig business knows how important it is to have a marketing plan that can establish, maintain and promote yourself. This plan is what helps you attract a certain type of client and the kind of work that you want to commit to in the long run.
Figure Out Your Niche
Having an identity in today’s free market is important. More people than ever in the job market vying for the same things that you are. So, taking some time off to create a marketing plan is a good idea.
Particularly, freelancers and anyone working in the gig business knows how important it is to have a marketing plan that can establish, maintain and promote yourself. This plan is what helps you attract a certain type of client and the kind of work that you want to commit to in the long run.
Figure Out Your Niche
A good marketing plan is an outline of everything that you are as a brand, everything you want to be and everything you want to be known for.
It is like your own personal bible that constantly illuminates the path you want to take on your journey through whatever profession you have settled on.
Start by drafting out a mission statement, one that clearly states your niche depending on what you want to achieve.
Then highlight how you are bringing about a change and what it is that makes you different in comparison to all the people already in the market.
Ask yourself if your brand aligns with what you have been propagating for so long. Do you want to keep the two you are i.e. personal and professional completely separate or you don’t mind some amount of overlapping?
All of this needs to be answered as it will form the basis of your mission statement highlighting your niche.
Set Goals That Can Be Measured
Once you have managed to figure out what your brand wants to convey to your target audience, the next step is to figure out how you will measure the accomplishment of your goals.
All of us are aware of SMART goals.
If you are a newbie or even a veteran at building a brand, you can always consult the SMART principles for setting your goals.
Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant and Timely, this is what every goal that you set for yourself should align with.
Setting realistic goals is the first step towards a successful career. Understand the difference between a goal and a dream, and you will make your life much easier.
Visualize your Plan
As designers, words might escape you but the ability to visualize is next to none. So, sketch, paint, draw, whichever mid you’re most comfortable with and incorporate it into your design.
As a designer, your biggest strength lies in how well you understand different elements and how you stick them together.
Visual aesthetics are always better than writing. Sorry, but that is just the truth.
Get your aesthetics in order and create a visual treat for your marketing plan.
Start Finding The Right Opportunities
Goals after being reviewed need to have actionable tactics that will ensure their completion jotted down.
The actionable tactics in a personal marketing plan could include
It is like your own personal bible that constantly illuminates the path you want to take on your journey through whatever profession you have settled on.
Start by drafting out a mission statement, one that clearly states your niche depending on what you want to achieve.
Then highlight how you are bringing about a change and what it is that makes you different in comparison to all the people already in the market.
Ask yourself if your brand aligns with what you have been propagating for so long. Do you want to keep the two you are i.e. personal and professional completely separate or you don’t mind some amount of overlapping?
All of this needs to be answered as it will form the basis of your mission statement highlighting your niche.
Set Goals That Can Be Measured
Once you have managed to figure out what your brand wants to convey to your target audience, the next step is to figure out how you will measure the accomplishment of your goals.
All of us are aware of SMART goals.
If you are a newbie or even a veteran at building a brand, you can always consult the SMART principles for setting your goals.
Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant and Timely, this is what every goal that you set for yourself should align with.
Setting realistic goals is the first step towards a successful career. Understand the difference between a goal and a dream, and you will make your life much easier.
Visualize your Plan
As designers, words might escape you but the ability to visualize is next to none. So, sketch, paint, draw, whichever mid you’re most comfortable with and incorporate it into your design.
As a designer, your biggest strength lies in how well you understand different elements and how you stick them together.
Visual aesthetics are always better than writing. Sorry, but that is just the truth.
Get your aesthetics in order and create a visual treat for your marketing plan.
Start Finding The Right Opportunities
Goals after being reviewed need to have actionable tactics that will ensure their completion jotted down.
The actionable tactics in a personal marketing plan could include
- A portfolio website along with projects and contact information
- Social Media Channels: In today's world you must leverage the social media channels to showcase your work.
- You can incorporate printed elements such as brochures and business cards
- Try and be charismatic and have a great presence when you meet potential clients
- Network through conferences or connect with like-minded people through forums and job searches online.
- Try to engage in speaking engagements
- Guest blogging, podcast appearances, and online tutorial are all great ways to engage the right audience.
- Paid promotion via advertising
The choice to use the right tactics remains with you. Depending on the kind of audience you are looking the choice will be made. You don’t have to apply each tactic because it might work. That is the wrong approach. You will end up doing each one of them only half-heartedly and that would be a waste of both time and money.
Content each tactic to the fulfillment of a goal before you engage in it.
Design and Share
Now to the fun part. As a freelancer, you are never not working. You need to have a plan in place which will outline the content that needs to be shared at all times.
Content is what makes the world go around. You want online interactions that convert into monetary transactions in the real world.
So, to do that you need to have a content plan in place.
Successful content will be aesthetically pleasing and will have consistent visuals backing it. You cannot have an aesthetic based in neon colors and then suddenly shit to pastel just because you feel like it.
Your personal brand needs to have a deliberate hand behind it. After a point of time, your brand needs to become cemented people’s memory.
Evaluate Review Redo
A personal marketing plan is constantly evolving. You will find that some things work better than others.
Over time you might also find that your goals have become redundant and need updating on your part.
So, constantly evaluate. See where the current goals and their corresponding tactics are taking you.
Also, don’t be too hard on yourself.if you don’t meet your preset goals in the first couple of times. It takes time to understand the capacity we can function.
Content each tactic to the fulfillment of a goal before you engage in it.
Design and Share
Now to the fun part. As a freelancer, you are never not working. You need to have a plan in place which will outline the content that needs to be shared at all times.
Content is what makes the world go around. You want online interactions that convert into monetary transactions in the real world.
So, to do that you need to have a content plan in place.
Successful content will be aesthetically pleasing and will have consistent visuals backing it. You cannot have an aesthetic based in neon colors and then suddenly shit to pastel just because you feel like it.
Your personal brand needs to have a deliberate hand behind it. After a point of time, your brand needs to become cemented people’s memory.
Evaluate Review Redo
A personal marketing plan is constantly evolving. You will find that some things work better than others.
Over time you might also find that your goals have become redundant and need updating on your part.
So, constantly evaluate. See where the current goals and their corresponding tactics are taking you.
Also, don’t be too hard on yourself.if you don’t meet your preset goals in the first couple of times. It takes time to understand the capacity we can function.
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